Where pesticides strike hardest: the map of use and the human cost in Brazil

Larissa Bombardi's research turns the problem of pesticides into a geographic and visual crisis. Through the Atlas, it is possible to map exactly where pesticides are being dumped most intensively in Brazil, and who is paying the human cost.

Brazil is the world's largest consumer of pesticides, and the data on volume and intensity prove the inequality of sacrifice within the country itself:

1. Concentration of Volume: The Central-West region (led by Mato Grosso, Goiás, and Mato Grosso do Sul) dominates absolute consumption, totaling more than 334,000 tons per year. The state of Mato Grosso alone is the country's largest absolute consumer, with 191,000 tons, reflecting the intense monoculture of commodities such as soy.

2. Intensity and Risk: The most alarming indicator is the intensity of use (kg/hectare of agricultural land). The Central-West applies on average 16.14 kg of active ingredient per hectare, the highest rate in the country, making the risk of contamination per area far greater.

3. The Poisoning Crisis: The intensity of use is reflected in public health. Between 2007 and 2014, the Atlas recorded more than 25,000 reported poisonings from agricultural pesticides in the country, with the researcher warning that there may be 50 unreported cases for every official one. The states with the highest number of cases are Paraná, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais.

The Atlas data are irrefutable: Brazil not only permits the use of pesticides banned in Europe, but also concentrates that toxicity in regions that are key to exports. Geographic mapping is the most powerful weapon for giving visibility to this violence and demanding that companies be held accountable.